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“Seems to me you’re the one with the problem. Apparently, I can’t be trusted.” I used the back of my hand to swipe my cheeks. “I’m super glad I put everything on the line, only to have everyone question my intentions.” I knew I sounded bitter. I eyed the door and wished I’d never come down at all. I should have stayed in my room. “Have a good night, Paul.” I stepped around him, but his hand slapped around my wrist.
“We gotta figure this shit out, Nicole.” I glanced down at his hand, and he flexed it but didn’t let go, only softened his grip a little.
“Why?” I couldn’t figure him out.
“Because,” he pressed his rock-solid body against mine, “you’re screwing with my head.”
I stepped back and shrugged. “That’s a you problem.” I whisked around him and headed back inside. I slipped through the entryway and up the stairs to my room. When I shut the door, I took a deep breath and got ready for bed. I pulled back the covers and slipped between the sheets. I was more than exhausted and allowed sleep to take over.
FIVE
BRUNO
“Impossible.” I couldn’t believe who I was seeing. Nando didn’t comment as he showed me the footage from the border. “Rewind that.” I watched the video again and saw Nicole interact with Chili, one of Eric Noah’s old friends. They talked briefly then disappeared out of view of the camera. “How on earth did those two hook up?”
“Maybe he saw her on TV,” Nando suggested. “Maybe he made a play to get the kid for himself.”
“It doesn’t matter now, though, does it?” My cane clicked against the floor as I moved closer to him. “You lost her, and you lost the child.” I pulled out my gun and shot him in the head. It was time he was gone from my sight. “Armondo?”
He struggled to wipe the fear from his face. “Yes, sir.”
“Find me someone capable of doing his job.”
“Of course.”
He quickly dragged the body from the room as I waved at another of my men to clean up the mess then sent everyone away, as I needed time to think. It had been over a week since I saw Nicole and she drilled that bullet into my foot. I was lucky there wasn’t as much damage as there could have been. She’d pay for it. She’d pay every single day once I had her back. She’d be mine forever without a chance of leaving. I shivered with delight at the thought of how I’d break her and make her mine.
I heard the click of heels as I made a drink and reached for another glass.
“There you are.” Maya, my old friend, had come downstairs. She had taken care of my sexual needs earlier, and I felt much more relaxed. She stood and looked down at the nasty spot where Nando’s life had just ended. She merely shrugged and reached for her drink.
“I was thinking we should go for a drive to the ocean. I’m bored of the city.”
I hobbled over to a chair and took a sip from my glass. “I’ve got to work, but if you want a car to take you there, I can provide that.”
“I want you to come with me.” She pouted, and her red mouth looked inviting.
I leaned back and studied her. I liked Maya. She had wonderful attributes, mostly in the bedroom, a lovely body, and above all, I knew I could trust her. I’d tested her more than once, and she never disappointed me. The issue was she demanded a lot of my time when she was around, and I was much too busy with the task at hand to give her the attention she wanted.
“Bruno,” Rio, Mama’s right-hand man, appeared in the doorway of my office, “you should see this.” He glanced at Maya, and I knew whatever it was, it wasn’t meant for her eyes.
“Go use the pool out back.” I motioned for her to get moving.
“The pool?” Her nose scrunched, but she lifted her hands in defeat as Armondo came rushing in. He must have heard that Rio had arrived. Maya looked at Armondo, then Rio. She made a show for them as she crossed the room to kiss me and let out a loud sigh. “I guess I’ll go entertain myself.” She turned dramatically and left the room.
I admired her tight ass as she walked, then a thought hit me as she disappeared through the door. She was pretty and had her attributes, but she wasn’t the one I really wanted. I heated as I pictured Nicole again. In time, I will break her, and she’ll be mine until I get my fill.
I caught Rio watching me, so I sat straighter. “I don’t want to have to remind you that this is my house and coming over unannounced is breaking rule number one.”
“I’m under orders from your mother to show you this and ask if you know anything about it.” He raised an eyebrow, and I wanted to slap it right off his cocky face. Instead, I extended my hand for him to give me the tablet. “It was uploaded from a new account this morning on YouTube. It seems Señorita Winter isn’t the only one making waves in the media.”
My curiosity piqued, I hit play on the video. The pain in my foot soon subsided as I watched with great delight.
“One down, ten to go.” I grinned, but then something hit me. I backed up the video and paused it on his face. “Armondo, why do I feel I met him before? It’s something in the eyes.”
Armondo followed my train of thought. “He does look familiar.”
“Let’s do a little recap, shall we?” Rio made himself comfortable on the chair across from me. I thought of all the ways I’d kill the son of bitch when my mother was finished with him. “The American reporter brings a date to Sully’s party, a party where he’s entertaining an unlikely guest, Rafael Cruz. The very man who is selling the child and the only one who knew where the child was being held.”
